Well tomorrow's Think2Act conference takes place tomorrow and promises to be an excellent free event for anyone who has recently been made redundant or seeking change.

Mayo's Open Coffee Club are hosting their next event on Wednesday July 1st in the Civic Centre in Belmullet.

The 121 Marketing Network on LinkedIn will be having their First Wednesday event this Wednesday July 1st in the Mint Bar in the Westin Hotel in Dublin city centre. I wrote a case study about the founder a few months back and definitely worth a visit.

Digital Tonic #10 takes place this Thursday July 2nd in Bar Number 3, 3 Fade Street in Dublin city centre. Digital Tonic is a free networking event for digital media professionals in Ireland.

Next Wednesday, July 8th, ICAD are hosting a creative coffee collective inviting anyone who has been made redundant, freelancers and/or people available to meet and chat at 11 in the Radisson on Golden Lane to explore how ICAD could be of help during these tough times.

While on Wednesday evening,there is the inaugural free Business Networking event in Bewleys Hotel in Ballsbridge at 6 p.m. The plan is to run monthly events for a year and it's strictly for business owners only.

So that should keep you busy for the next two weeks, for the record Flexitimers is not affiliated with any of the events and hope they are worthwhile. If you'd like to be included in this round-up, feel free to email me your events two weeks in advance.
Get out there and make your own luck and enjoy yourself. A smile costs nothing!

Labels: Recession, Redundancy, social networking

Came across an article on Business World via the Irish Business and Professional Network on LinkedIn. It talks about Confidence in Action a new initiative - a series of FREE seminars aiming to help companies and individuals navigate their way around this recession. So far events have been organised for Dublin, Cork and Limerick starting in September. They've assembled a very impressive line up of speakers ranging from economists,entrepreneurs and media hacks. It's a morning til night affair starting with breakfast at 9 and ending with networking from 6-7. All seminars are free but you have to register, you also have to register for each seminar individually. My registration submission returned an error but I think it's worth trying again. Maybe see you there.

Labels: Flexitimers, Recession, Redundancy, self-employed, small business

I've been in correspondence with George Michalski over the past few months who is involved in LifeWise - a dedicated website for the over 50s in Ireland. I have to say I really like this idea, LifeWise.ie provides an exciting range of products and services to suit the lifestyle of the Irish over-50s. Categories such as Health, Leisure, Travel, Finance and Retail feature editorials and special offers. They've lots of interesting news and blog posts such as advice for those recently made redundant offering tips and advice. Recession is a tough time for all of us but I think it can be particularly tough for the over 50s who may feel it's too late to retrain. I really hope George's site takes off and we at Flexitimers wish them all the best.

Labels: Recession, Redundancy

Heard about this conference via the Dublin City Enterprise Board Newsletter.
National College of Ireland will host and sponsor Think2Act, a free conference for people who have recently been made redundant or are considering taking new steps in their career. The conference which takes place on Tuesday 30 June will encompass the theme of 'change', seeks to change the recession mindset through expert advice and transformational coaching. It's FREE and has lots of advice and tips for people seeking change including experts in career coaching and psychology. Really worth a visit.


For further information, visit the conference page or contact:
Contact Details:
Dr. Celine Mullins
celine.mullins@a4b.ie
0863637019
Eibhlin Johnston
Eibhlin@thinkcoaching.ie
087 8583564

Labels: jobs, Recession, Redundancy, self-employed, small business

The following interview with Joy Redmond Marketing & Operations Director of Flexitimers kindly syndicated from JobsBlog.ie

About Flexitimers
Flexitimers is a self-service project board enabling companies to connect with consultants, freelancers, small businesses, contractors and specialists/experts for professional project work in Ireland.

The site is completely free for both professionals and companies to use. Flexitimers is a closed network; employers or other professionals cannot search through profiles. Profiles are only viewable to employers whose project matches your profile.

Ivan: New Flexitimers site is launched, the media love it, and the response has been very positive. How happy are you with the media coverage?
Well obviously we're very pleased and I think the reason is because Flexitimers is a good news story during recession overload. Everyday we are hearing and reading about the recession, job losses, redundancy and market uncertainty. Flexitimers is good news for a few reasons. Firstly, we have hit on a previously untapped sector with the recruitment industry in Ireland being a mix of web2.0 and project work which is very new and hugely necessary. Secondly, project and indeed flexible work tended to be quite siloed for example IT and design sectors largely but our intention was to offer flexibility to a broader occupational base. Traditionally I suppose IT and design were easy outsource targets because the output was so tangible but there is no reason why any company cannot outsource less tangible operations/functions such as PR, sales and marketing, admin, legal and financial roles. It all goes back to people skills and effective management and just because someone is sitting in your office 40 hours per week doesn't always translate into an optimal solution. Thirdly, we practice what we preach: I live in Wexford and co-founder Dervla Cunningham is based in Dublin and we have managed to research, develop and launch a business by working remotely.

Ivan: The Recruitment industry in Ireland is changing. What role will Flexitimers play in the future?
Of course the recruitment industry is changing because it had to, it is a bit like the construction or property sector during the boom which was synonymous with over-charging and under-delivering. Today, no company can afford to pay for mediocrity whether that is in suppliers, staff or services.
To get back to recruitment, we believe the employment model is changing and the focus will be less on hiring full time permanent staff but will be more project driven. It is a win-win situation for employers because they get to pick and choose the best people for each task and manage their overheads more effectively.
Flexitimers' role is to provide companies with access to a pool of skilled and experienced professionals who are actively seeking project work. Traditionally companies tend to find project workers through their own networks but this is random and unfortunately the best people aren't necessarily within your reach. On Flexitimers you can hire beyond your network and not compromise on quality or caliber. I suppose, Flexitimers confounds false economy and mediocrity.

Ivan: The way we live and the way we work is not the same. Flexitimers seems to be accommodating this and applying it to recruitment?
Absolutely, as the line goes 'nobody ever said on their deathbed, I should have spent more time in the office.' But there is one key point I want to make here: just because you want to work flexibly doesn't mean you have to compromise your career. Take part-time work for example, typically available only in retail, catering and administrative jobs. Like I said earlier, Flexitimers is broadening that occupational base. How? We provide professionals with access to flexible positions i.e. contract, temporary, freelance, consulting and telework across a variety of roles so we're there to help anyone who has just been made redundant to earn income while they're in between jobs. Furthermore, more and more of these interim project workers who join the site for interim or stopgap work find it works better for them so now not only have they flexibility but also they're expanding their profile, career and portfolio.

Ivan: Flexitimers - what is the next step? What is the plan for the future?
I could tell you but I'd have to shoot you afterwards! Only joking, big plans and plenty of exciting developments. I suppose the biggest news at the moment is that our service is FREE to use which again reflects the dramatic changes in the recruitment industry. We'll of course want to build our brand and awareness over the coming months. In the background we are working on expansion plans both in terms of functionality and geography. I speak French, Spanish and basic Dutch so who knows, maybe I will be teleworking from a sunnier climate!

About Joy Redmond, co-founder of Flexitimers
Joy Redmond started her career in 1996 as Marketing Director of Newmedia, one of Ireland's first web design companies. She remained agency side working with Zartis.com and Campaign HTDS before moving client side to become online marketing manager of IngredientsNet.com (a joint venture between Fyffes and Glanbia). Before setting up Flexitimers with Dervla Cunningham, Joy was a lecturer in E-business, research and marketing in the Dublin Institute of Technology and was Course Director of the Masters in Business & Entrepreneurship. Joy also is a busy project worker doing consultant marketing and research for many blue chip companies in Ireland such as Bank of Ireland, eircom, NTL, Poster Plan and JCDecaux. She is a mentor on the Wexford County Enterprise Board and a member of the Irish Internet Association Social Media Working Group.

Joy: Thanks Ivan, a pleasure doing this interview, keep up the good work.

Labels: Flexitimers, Media Coverage, online recruitment, Recession

If you've been recently made redundant well then this case study I wrote for the Irish Internet Association might cheer you up. It's a story about a fellow marketer called Karina Heavey who was made redundant in January this year but instead of sitting back waiting for the recession to go away, she got proactive and got seriously engaged in social media. Although an experienced marketer, she'd no experience or expertise in social networks but with some extra time and a lot of drive, she turned that around. The story has a happy ending too. Go on, get active, get online and create your own luck too.

Labels: IIA SMWG, jobs, Recession, Redundancy, social media, social networking

Got this really nice mail from one of our professionals tonight don't worry we asked her permission to republish.

I just wanted to say a big thank you! It's hard enough finding a non-full time, flexible position in IT in the best of times, let alone in a recession. So I was delighted that you sent me an opportunity which has now resulted in a job offer (from KRO IT in Galway). Perhaps the recession is encouraging people to think laterally, and get professional, experienced people, but not full time. Yours is a terrific resource and I will spread the word!

Well Caroline, we wish you the very best of luck and we're always happy to hear and publish Flexitimers success stories. Thanks and congratulations on the new job.

Labels: contracting, flexible work, Flexitimers, jobs, Recession

Clodagh Hughes from Motive8 is another woman on a mission to encourage positivity and action
that 'will get us through this difficult period with a little less stress and a lot more control over the final outcome'. To this end, she's organising Your Best Year Yet Individual Workshop in Killiney Castle on March 27th. Anyone who is unemployed /redundant pays just for lunch (20 euro) which I think is incredibly generous and indicative of the new beat the recession Ireland which is supportive and the antithesis of the rip-off boom years. Well done and best of luck with the event.

Labels: jobs, Recession, Redundancy

An article caught my eye in Friday's Irish Times about the CEO Forum that takes place this week in Dublin. CEOs from some of Ireland's largest companies are meeting to discuss how to operate in challenging times ahead.

A comment by Brian Long, chief executive of venture capital firm Atlantic Bridge struck me as relevant to Flexitimers "during periods of recession, opportunities tend to open up in the outsourcing space as large corporations pare back, reduce their workforce and then realise that they don't have the "bandwidth" to carry out certain activities such as the development of non-core products. This creates opportunities for smaller players to step in and offer their services". This is also the case for freelancers, contractors and anyone offering themselves 'flexibly' to companies. Food for thought indeed.

Labels: contracting, flexible work, jobs, Recession, self-employed, small business, smart work, work

Just reading David Behan's post The Internet is Good for a Recession and he made some excellent points about the effect the recession will have on the Internet for consumers, business and the web industry itself. I added a comment saying I feel the recession is a good time for freelancers and contractors as companies will opt for a lower risk outsource rather than hire someone full time which is always good news for us. A friend of mine who manages a geo-engineering company was looking for a full time marketing manager to increase their visibility and I told him to hire a good designer and copywriter to revamp collateral (freelance gig), a business consultant/mentor to help with strategy (freelance gig), a journo / PR person to write and more importantly distribute press releases (contract gig) and a smart administrator to work maybe 8-10 hours per week to manage all of the above. I reckon he'd get a lot more done in a fraction of the time and a fraction of the cost. This is the message we have to send out there - work still needs to be done, it definitely needs to be professional but it can be compartmentalised and be done so much better by the right people with the right skill sets. Hooray for Flexitimers.

Labels: Flexitimers, Recession